EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the third in a series of "Get to Know" profiles on GCU's College of Arts and Media faculty.
Music always has played a major role in Dr. Juan Hernandez's life. From an early age, he enjoyed taking music and instrumental lessons and performing in choir and ensembles. His biggest music inspiration? His dad, who worked as a music teacher.
When it was time for college decisions, there was no surprise Hernandez chose to study music. He earned his bachelor’s degree in piano performance from The Master’s University, a master's degree in choral conducting from Yale University and a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Arizona.
A two-year teaching position at MidAmerica Nazarene University kicked off his postcollege career. One day, Hernandez was surprised by an enticing call from Grand Canyon University, asking if he was interested in helping start its music program. Now the assistant dean of music, Hernandez has spent 15 years developing the program, courses and vocal performing groups.
What was your first impression of GCU’s music program when you came here?
There was no program. When the university initially got rid of the arts department, they had to sell all instruments and equipment. When I came, it was starting the department from scratch, buying instruments and building the program.
The university was very different at the time. It was basically a whole lot of dirt everywhere, but little by little, we have been building and growing as a part in the university’s transformation.
Spanish is your native tongue, so you learned to sing in Spanish first. What was it like learning to sing in English?
Interestingly enough, it was not that challenging.
When you are learning to sing, you learn in foreign languages because the sound of those languages is different and that affects the tuning of your voice and the way you sing. Because I was already into that, learning different languages for choir specifically was not that much of a challenge.
What is the first English song you learned?
Probably the "Happy Birthday" song.
Critical Mass performs at every commencement ceremony. Sometimes that means twice a day for five days. How do you motivate your students to not get tired of repeatedly singing the same songs?
Part of the students’ training is learning to not get bored with music in general. There are different nuances that we do within each performance, and sometimes you kind of feed from the audience also.
The commencements are really interesting, especially the nontraditional ceremonies, because many people truly sacrifice a lot to go back to school and finish, and you can see it on their faces. I tell my students they can see how moved they are and how meaningful commencement is for them. Sometimes it’s those very moments that help our students stay fresh.
Part of the discipline is to make it sound like it’s the first time you’ve sang here because, for the people that are listening, it is their first time listening and it might be their last time, too. You owe it to them, to give them that energy, that freshness, the delivery every time.
Describe the thought process behind your concert attire.
It is always a black suit. I have a collection of black shirts and suits.
Some concerts are very long. For instance, when we do the "Messiah," that is normally about 2 1/2 hours. The most important part is that the material is comfortable and breathable.
My daughter always asks me, why do I have so many black shirts. When we do commencements, it’s so many days in a row, you don’t even have time to do laundry. So, one shirt for each day.
You are usually accompanied by Music Director Mark Fearey on the piano. You are a music duo. How do you build that relationship with each other?
We are together in rehearsal for at least 20 hours every week. We plan the year together and are in constant communication about what is going on. That has developed into camaraderie.
Sometimes I have to miss rehearsal, leave early or come late because of my administrative duties. He is always there for me, delegates and helps with whatever I need. It’s just time spent together that has led to a really good partnership.
Carnegie Hall is one of the most prestigious, renowned recital halls in the world. You and a group of our students got to perform there in 2018. What were your initial thoughts and reaction when you got the invitation?
When I first got the invitation, it was just like, “AHHHHHH!”
It doesn’t matter how far you are in your career. You might be the most famous performer, conductor and so on, but to perform at Carnegie Hall is always considered the epitome of your career.
I got invited to conduct a concert and part of that was to invite some of our students. We raised some money. It was combined with another choir, a school from Pennsylvania. We had about 70 students go.
I was excited, but it certainly came with pressure. I mean, it’s Carnegie Hall. You want to present a good concert, which our students did, they really came through.
It is one of the highlights that I’ve had not only to have just done it for myself, but to have provided the experience to our students. It is truly one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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